Love is a Many-Penguined Thing…

Xposted at ComicsPlusBlog

I have a few major entertainment purchases in mind for the Fall, the first of which being a Fry Daddy. And anyone who knows me knows I’m not kidding. I have a vision of deep-fried brownie appetizers and chicken fried chicken entrees. Dessert would kill a lesser man from just looking at it. I plan to lick a raw hot dog to stay svelte and have an unethical doctor transfuse me with blood from five-year olds. And not the morbidly obese Xbox-bound five-year olds either. The active kind with ruddy cheeks and a zest for life. My guy knows a guy in Pleasantville.

But more in keeping with the spirit of this site, I’m desperately looking forward to Volume One of the Bloom County Complete Library from IDW. Is there anyone who grew up in the 80’s or who has a sense of the importance of this strip who isn’t ordering it? Hell, pre-order it at Amazon.com and get 34% off (I did!) just to give it a try if you’ve never heard if it before.

Berekley Breathed’s Bloom County was the strip that defined the 80’s (God help me, those were my high school years) for me and formed my sense of humor and my politics (mostly a sense of being able to mock politics). Though the strip started off with a heavy conservative slant – an early one shows Milo and his grandfather hunting the endangered American Liberal with a lure of “Socialized medicine! Socialized medicine!” – it became more moderate over time, even going so far, some may say, as to embrace a liberal agenda (or at least a position that allowed for more editorial-type cartooning of both sides of the Aisle) showing respect for Jesse Jackson as a presidential contender, though one Mr. Jones says that it was not then time for a black President (oh, foresight!). Of course, I didn’t know that. All I knew was that the cast of Bloom County had impeccable comic timing and totally quotable lines. Even today when mocking pretentious, name-dropping boobs, I often fall back on, “Oh, and give Imelda a squeeze for me.” Dated, but it brings a smile to my face.

Though many today probably don’t remember (indeed, or even care about) Imelda Marcos, it moments like that which make the Complete Bloom County even more important. While strips like Cathy highlighted and lamented the woes of singleshood and expanding waistlines, and For Better or for Worse documented the growth of a family, Bloom County may be the most comprehensive record of event of the 1980’s outside of Doonesbury. It’s more than a comic strip – it’s an historical document of feminism, sexism, political correctness, the downfall of parenting and personal responsibility, the ADA, election years, the rise of televangelism, popery, and the financial excesses spawned while the MTV generation was grooving to “The Safety Dance”. And this is all to say nothing of the impact Bloom County had on popular culture. This is me and my friend Mike at Niagara Falls circa 1989. Notice (if you can; we were using a Disc Camera) his holding Opus and my wearing a Billy and the Boingers t-shirt. Try not to notice whatever is going on with my face and the distressingly short shorts.

IDW plans to publish five volumes of strips starting this October with a new volume released every six months. Don’t take my word for it, but there’s going to be a lot of joy and love put into this project. You should really be there for it.

This probably isn’t the time to mention my Ally McBeal Complete Season One pre-order….